5 tips to keep warm in winter

Mouse Hand Warmer.
Keep your mouse hand covered and warm this winter with a fleece blanket.

by Janice Wee

I remember the movie The Day After Tomorrow. Where everyone was facing an ice age ahead, with temperatures so cold your blood could freeze instantly.

The main characters in the story were hiding in a library. Wise move. You wouldn't run out of things to burn in a library that is full of books. In their effort to stay warm, they kept their fireplace ablaze by burning library books, feeding the fire continually for that much needed warmth.

A homeless guy who had to survive winter in the streets crushed up paper and stuffed his clothes with them for insulation. One of the key ways to stay warm in winter is to insulate your clothing. That way, you keep the warmth in and the cold out. Crushing the paper trapped air. Air is a great insulator of heat. So that made a lot of sense.

Here are 5 tips to help you fight the cold.

#1 Generate heat.
To generate heat, most modern homes have a proper heating system. Just make sure you pay your heating bills. If you can't pay the bills, get your bills paid on your behalf. For example, if you are a U.S. resident, here's where you can get free heating at http://www.cheapestsale.com/free-heating.html. If you use an old fashion log fireplace, stock up on plenty of firewood in case you get snowed in.

#2 Layer your clothing
Wear layers of clothing to keep warm. Start off with a base layer. The thermal underwear. Ideally, your thermal underwear should fit like second skin. The goal is to keep your body heat in. Pure cotton thermal underwear would probably work if the temperature is above 5 degrees celsius. Colder than that and you need something much warmer. Like merino wool. Or a base layer that is suitable for snow sports, like the Duofold Insulayer thermal underwear which has 2 layers of fabric that trap air between the layers, for added insulation.

On top of the thermal underwear, you might want to wear a wool sweater and thick denim jeans or wool pants. You might want to add on a warm jacket or even a trenchcoat over the sweater. Depending on the severity of cold you might face, you might want to add more layers. Don't forget your gloves , scarve,woolen hat, ear muffs and boots. If it is really very cold, you might even need a ski mask.

#3 Drink warming liquids
Drinking a cup of ginger tea helps you body fight the cold too. Drinking plenty of hot soup at meals warms up the body beautifully.

#4 Bring a warm shawl
Carry along a cashmere throw, or at least a wool wrap with you so you can wrap that around you when you need additional warmth.

#5 Keep one another warm
Finally, huddle up close to a loved warm so you can keep each other warm. That's how our ancestors survived the cold winters when they lived in caves. They would huddle close together near the fire to keep warm.